The Counterpoint is a newsletter that uses both analytic and holistic thinking to examine the wider world. My goal is that you find it ‘worth reading’ rather than it necessarily ‘being right.’ Expect semi-regular essays on a variety of topics. I appreciate any and all sharing or subscriptions, as it helps support both my family and farm.
In May 2021, after six years in Los Angeles, my wife and I sold most of our belongings, packed up the car, and moved to Maryland. That October, we closed on a property in Frederick County. Our new home would be an 1820s farmhouse with a barn, several outbuildings, and 12 acres of mainly pasture. We named it Blue Glade Farm.
By applying permaculture and agroecological principles to the land, planting a diverse range of native species, both annual and perennial, minimizing to eliminating synthetic inputs and soil disturbance, and incorporating animals, our goal is to integrate our farm into the local ecological whole, while producing a diversity of nutritious foods for ourselves and our community.
Results
In 2025, Blue Glade Farm’s total production was ~463 pounds, consisting of ~13 pounds of food and ~450 pounds of honey from five beehives. This is a decrease of ~23% over last year’s production of ~600 pounds (which was entirely honey).
Discussion
Between the birth of my second child and the largest tree planting year in the farm’s history, it was another small year for the annual garden: just a bunch of onions.
But while non-honey production was small, it was exciting that several perennial systems make progress and even started producing: asparagus, pawpaw, and chestnut.
Asparagus crowns require two years of setting before harvesting. Since I planted the patch in 2023, I knew that this year would be our first harvest. While the suggestion is to keep harvests light in years three and four, I was still able to get 2.4 pounds of asparagus from the ~4ft x ~12ft area that I’ve planted with asparagus. After the initial planting, the patch only requires ~1-2 hours of maintenance per year (here is a thread on my annual maintenance), and production will continue to scale as the crowns continue to set and strengthen.
Pawpaw will be one of our main cash crops that we grow. Being an incredible niche fruit with a good story (America’s tropical fruit!) and great flavor (usually described as a mango crossed with a banana), they fetch good prices locally and even better prices in DC. I planted our first pawpaws in spring 2022 and this year one tree from that cohort produced our very first fruit, a single, 0.8-pound fruit of the “Sunflower” variety.
Chestnuts are one of the lynchpins of our farm. We have ~80 planted on the western half of our farm (the eastern half is too wet). Being long-lived nut trees, they will live for quite literally centuries, so aren’t exactly in a rush to produce. Usually estimates predict 5-8 years for the very first nuts, with full, mature production not occurring until years 15-20. Our first chestnut cohort was planted in spring 2022, so I had no expectations of nuts this year. And while I am still waiting (notice that chestnuts aren’t listed on the production chart), we did hit an important milestone on the way to nuts: burrs! The sharp and pointy burrs encase the actual nuts and protect them from being eaten until maturity. One can’t have actual chestnuts without burrs, and we had a single burr form on one tree this year. I presumed that it was unfertilized and I was correct; when it opened it contained three, unfertilized nuts.
As I mentioned, this was also our largest tree planting year ever; we planted >1,000 trees and shrubs this spring and summer, across three main projects.
We planted the final cohort of chestnuts, bring our total number up to ~80 total trees. These trees were planted in a “double row” in our “back field.”
The double row of chestnuts in the “back field” directly after planting in March. We established a diverse hedgerow on the western edge of the “back field,” containing literally hundreds of trees and shrubs, a mix of American and European hazelnuts, pecans, Douglas firs, “Green giant” arborvitae, American persimmon, American holly, indigo bush, Southern arrowwood, witch hazel, Alberta spruce, and Norway Spruce.
Soaking the root of chestnuts and American hazelnuts before planting. We planted out the ~1.25 acres (~10% of our land) dedicated to Maryland’s “Five Million Trees” program. We consider this land an ‘ecological tithe’ to the area, providing important wildlife habitat and diversity, some edible production, and the riparian buffer will help both prevent erosion along the creek and absorb nutrients from upstream, keeping the water clean.
Some of the 625 native trees planted for Maryland’s “Five Million Trees” program.
Finally, the other major project of the year is that we are currently building permanent exterior fencing. This will be to contain cattle (and eventually other animals) while they rotationally graze under the various trees. It will also help anchor the portable and temporary electric fence which will be used in that rotational grazing.
Methods
Chemical Use
While Blue Glade Farm has never used a pesticide or fungicide, we did use our first herbicides this year, as a targeted way to clean up some of the fencerows prior to the ongoing construction of the fence. I initially attempted the organic acceptable “grandma’s weedkiller,” a mixture of vinegar and Epsom salt. It worked better than I expected, but the downside is that it merely kills topically, i.e. not down to the root. Because of this, I upgraded to the commercial “Crossbow” herbicide, a broadleaf herbicide. And yeah, that stuff works. I will probably also use it next year, but my longer term goal is to control the fencerows mechanically, rather than with chemical herbicide.
We also used a small number of different fertilizers and elemental compounds, this year just Dr. Earth’s Organic Tree Fertilizer and elemental sulfur pellets, the former spread around all the various fruit and nut trees, the latter just around our chestnuts and blueberries.
I also found a box of Miracle Gro in the garage when we rented dumpster for the long overdue cleanout of the various buildings across the farm. Rather than waste it, I mixed it into one of the compost piles along with some wood chips.
Energy Use
In 2025, we used 22,710* KwH of electricity. This is more than the average American household (~10,632 KwH), however there are two important caveats. First, our house is entirely electric, including HVAC and all appliances. Therefore we use more electricity because we don’t directly consume any fossil fuels. Second, we do have the farm, and even if I’ll reiterate that the farm’s electricity use is currently de minimis, it is also non-zero (there are lights in the barn, for example).
Moreover, during a February cold spell, one of our geothermal units blew out, causing the other one to work extra in inefficiently before we could get it repaired. This added ~2000 extra KwH (compared to historical Februarys).
Finally, our second child was born this year and wow, it really does feel like the laundry machine, dishwasher, and a bath are constantly running.
The farm’s diesel use increased this year to ~45 gallons. This was expected as I increased the amount of mowing of the pasture, mowing each field on an approximate 30 day cycle. This was for two reasons. First, a full year of robust annual weed suppress prior to beginning grazing. Second, because the cows will be rotationally grazed on an approximate 30 day cycle, I wanted to start building a sense of the pasture’s growth on a 30 day cycle. Of course, this will vary year-to-year based on local conditions, but I thought it was a very useful exercise to start building that intuition.
I am excited to finally get our first cattle next year. This is for several reasons, but I mention it here because hopefully, I will be able to report declines in fossil fuel use next year. With the steers grazing, I should need to mow less.
Finally, I’ll briefly mention that while this is a full accounting of the farm’s direct energy consumption, it does not include the embodied energy of the supplies and materials that we purchase. For example, the steel T-posts that we use to stake trees required energy to mine, forge, and transport.
Over time, I expect our electricity use to increase from continually expanded farm operations and also (hopefully) expanded family size. We will continue to attempt to minimize our use of the energy grid through things like solar-powered electric fencing.
Goals
In last year’s annual report, I listed ten goals for 2025. We mostly or fully met four of the ten goals, with one currently in progress.
Pleasantly, one goal was even exceeded, as not only did I “attend >50% of my county’s soil conservation district board meetings,” but I’ve been named one of five Associate Supervisors for Frederick County’s board. Soil conservation districts help promote and implement a range of local, state, and federal programs including land preservation, USDA-NRCS programs including the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, and Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share Program (MACS). The goal of the district is the stewardship of the county’s natural resources for future generations.
Usually listing ten goals, here I will only name one:
Acquire our first steers and begin rotational grazing of our chestnut-persimmon silvopasture system.
Cattle are a huge responsibility, as not only are they large animals that require care, respect, and maintenance, but they will be critical lynchpins of our ecological system: converting inedible plant fibers into edible meat, producing liquid and solid fertilizer for the trees and plants, all while reducing our use of fossil fuels for maintenance of the farm.
While I have raised cattle before, it was always under my father’s tutelage on his farm while I was a boy. These will be the first animals on my farm and their care I will ultimately be my responsibility. I take the word “stewardship” seriously, and I am excited, humbled, and a little nervous to take the next step on our farm’s journey.